an arboreal forest crab on a mossy branch in rainforest overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica

a grasshopper in a lowland rainforest in Costa Rica

a hermit crab on a secluded beach in Costa Rica's Cahuita National Park

In perhaps the most famous example of coevolution, acacia ants (Psuedomyrmex sp.) and acaca trees (Acacia/Vacheyllia sp.) depend on each other for survival in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica. The ants inhabit hollow thorns and feed on lipid and amino acid-rich Beltian bodies on the trees' leaflet tips and sugary extra-floral nectary glands at the base of the leaf petioles. In exchange for food and shelter, the ants protect the acacia tree from herbivores (deer, caterpillars), vines, and even from wildfires by clearing brush around the base of the tree. Famed tropical ecologist Daniel Janzen showed in his doctoral dissertation that without each other, the ants and trees die, making the association a textbook case of coevolutionary mutualism.

In perhaps the most famous example of coevolution, acacia ants (Psuedomyrmex sp.) and acaca trees (Acacia/Vacheyllia sp.) depend on each other for survival in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica. The ants inhabit hollow thorns and feed on lipid and amino acid-rich Beltian bodies on the trees' leaflet tips and sugary extra-floral nectary glands at the base of the leaf petioles. In exchange for food and shelter, the ants protect the acacia tree from herbivores (deer, caterpillars), vines, and even from wildfires by clearing brush around the base of the tree. Famed tropical ecologist Daniel Janzen showed in his doctoral dissertation that without each other, the ants and trees die, making the association a textbook case of coevolutionary mutualism.

In perhaps the most famous example of coevolution, acacia ants (Psuedomyrmex sp.) and acaca trees (Acacia/Vacheyllia sp.) depend on each other for survival in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica. The ants inhabit hollow thorns and feed on lipid and amino acid-rich Beltian bodies on the trees' leaflet tips and sugary extra-floral nectary glands at the base of the leaf petioles. In exchange for food and shelter, the ants protect the acacia tree from herbivores (deer, caterpillars), vines, and even from wildfires by clearing brush around the base of the tree. Famed tropical ecologist Daniel Janzen showed in his doctoral dissertation that without each other, the ants and trees die, making the association a textbook case of coevolutionary mutualism.

jumping spider on a rainforest leaf

a Phasmid (walking stick) baby on a rainforest stem

Urania moth feedng from an Inga flower

sun strikes a spider web in a Costa Rican cloud forest

Urania moths feed from a tree in Tortuguero National Park

sun strikes a spider web in a Costa Rican cloud forest

Harvestmen on a rainforest leaf

baby spiders in a lowland rainforest

a rhinoceros beetle in a Costa Rican tropical dry forest

I wanted a kind of micro-landscape feel to this portrait of a katydid sitting on a clump of moss in a Costa Rican cloud forest. An off-camera flash with a softbox gave the image some pop.

The tiny shining-blue Lasaia butterfly (Lasaia sp.) is eye-candy all by itself, but I liked the look of this one feeding on the nectar of Warszewiczia flowers in a Costa Rican rainforest canopy. I shot handled from a canopy walkway. Thank goodness for image stabilization!

Many rainforest plants gain protection against predators from ants. The plants produce extrafloral nectary glands, which the ants use as a food source. In turn, the ants protect the plant from caterpillars and other predators that would eat the leaves and stems of the plant. These ants are drinking from extrafloral nectary glands of a vine in a Costa Rican lowland rainforest.

A caterpillar makes it way through a towering cloud forest

I photographed this psychadelic walking stick (a Phasmid insect that I've not been able to identify) at night in a cloud forest near the Tenorio Volcano National Park. Some estimates claim that Costa Rica may harbor upwards of half a million species of invertebrates; this is certainly one of the more striking species. Lighting was via a flashlight torch.

I photographed this psychadelic walking stick (a Phasmid insect that I've not been able to identify) at night in a cloud forest near the Tenorio Volcano National Park. Some estimates claim that Costa Rica may harbor upwards of half a million species of invertebrates; this is certainly one of the more striking species.

I photographed this psychadelic walking stick (a Phasmid insect that I've not been able to identify) at night in a cloud forest near the Tenorio Volcano National Park. Some estimates claim that Costa Rica may harbor upwards of half a million species of invertebrates; this is certainly one of the more striking species. I used multiple flashes to illuminate the insect and the background and used a wide aperture for shallow depth of field.

katydids in a forest near Tenorio Volcano National Park

katydids in a forest near Tenorio Volcano National Park

Praying mantis near Tenorio Volcano National Park

a tarantula on a dry forest branch

Praying mantis are abundant in Costa Rica's rainforests, but when I saw this one on a trailing vine in the Sarapiqui region, I immediately set about photographing it with the 300 mm lens that I had on hand.

A giant Saturnid moth in the genus Rothschildia taken in a Costa Rican cloud forest.

A giant earthworm measuring nearly 3 feet long on the rainforest floor in Ecuador

A beautiful little rainforest weevil on a fern leaf

A dragonfly hovering above a backwater lagoon in the Peruvian Amazon

A dragonfly hovering above a backwater lagoon in the Peruvian Amazon

A dragonfly hovering above a backwater lagoon in the Peruvian Amazon

Bullet ants can measure nearly 2 inches long and their sting i considered the most painful in the insect world. They can play an important role in pollination of certain rainforest plants as they collect nectar, which they hold in their jaws to take back to their underground colonies. This bullet ant is collecting nectar from a rainforest Poinsettia plant (actually from the genus Warsweczia in the coffee or Rubiaceae family).

Bullet ants can measure nearly 2 inches long and their sting i considered the most painful in the insect world. They can play an important role in pollination of certain rainforest plants as they collect nectar, which they hold in their jaws to take back to their underground colonies. This bullet ant is collecting nectar from a rainforest Poinsettia plant (actually from the genus Warsweczia in the coffee or Rubiaceae family).

Bullet ants can measure nearly 2 inches long and their sting i considered the most painful in the insect world. They can play an important role in pollination of certain rainforest plants as they collect nectar, which they hold in their jaws to take back to their underground colonies. This bullet ant is collecting nectar from a rainforest Poinsettia plant (actually from the genus Warsweczia in the coffee or Rubiaceae family).

Bullet ants can measure nearly 2 inches long and their sting i considered the most painful in the insect world. They can play an important role in pollination of certain rainforest plants as they collect nectar, which they hold in their jaws to take back to their underground colonies. This bullet ant is collecting nectar from a rainforest Poinsettia plant (actually from the genus Warsweczia in the coffee or Rubiaceae family).

A colorful weevil on a branch in a rainforest, Ecuador

Spiny Devil Katydid in a rainforest in the Amazon foothills of Ecuador

Spiny Devil Katydid in a rainforest in the Amazon foothills of Ecuador

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